The data collected by Croatian law enforcement authorities on migrant smuggling accounts for 35% of the data collected by Europol on this issue, Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Thursday.

Croatia contributes greatly to Europol’s performance in relation to the security priorities of all EU member states, including migrant smuggling, the interior minister said as he presented a draft law on data exchange between law enforcement agencies of EU member states to parliament.

Europol stands for European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU) founded in 1998.

Croatia has the most intensive data exchange with Germany, Slovenia, Austria and France

According to Minister Bozinovic, the bill on Parliament’s agenda aims to adapt the relevant national legislation to Directive (EU) 2023/977 on the exchange of information between law enforcement authorities of the Member States, which repealed Council Framework Decision 2006/960/JHA.

This Directive lays down harmonised rules for the exchange of information between competent law enforcement authorities for the purposes of the prevention, detection or investigation of criminal offences.

Bozinovic informed the Parliament that Croatia has the most intensive data exchange with Germany, Slovenia, Austria and France, but also with its neighbours that are not EU members: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.